Inner Porsangerfjord (3183)
Norway, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1d, D1a
Year of last assessment: 2014
National site name: Indre Porsangerfjord
Central coordinates: Latitude: 70.1667, Longitude: 24.6667
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 50
Area of KBA (km2): 498.83299
Protected area coverage (%): 6.66
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: An area of huge mudflats, grassy shorelines, saltmarshes, mires and birch Betula forest, close to Stabbursneset headland. Heathland dominates on the islands. There is some traditional egg-collecting by local inhabitants, and harvesting of cloudberries Rubus chamaemorus on the islands. Goose hunting takes place, mainly of Anser fabalis. The area includes `Stabbursneset', a site (the former NO010) in the previous pan-European IBA inventory (Grimmett and Jones 1989).
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least one criterion described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs.
Additional biodiversity: Valdakmyra is an important staging ground for almost the entire Norwegian breeding population of Anser erythropus, both in spring (May-June) and autumn (July-September), the species having declined dramatically in Fennoscandia since the 1940s. The huge flocks of staging Calidris canutus in late May are a spectacular sight, foraging on the sandbanks exposed at low tide before continuing their migration to Greenland and northern Canada. Some of these birds are the same as those staging at Sørkjosen (IBA 017) in Troms. Wildfowl and other waders, both breeding in the area or on migration, are also numerous in spring, e.g. Limosa lapponica (up to several hundred on passage). Good numbers of Somateria mollissima (10,000) and Melanitta nigra (3,000) gather to moult offshore after the breeding season. Species of global conservation concern that do not meet IBA criteria: Haliaeetus albicilla (1-2 pairs breed elsewhere but forage in the area in spring and summer).
Delineation rationale: Boundary created in Google Earth, follows the coastline of the inner parts of the Porsanger fjord.
Habitats
Land use: hunting | nature conservation and research
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Marine Neritic | 25 | |
| Marine Intertidal | 25 | |
| Wetlands(Inland) | 25 | |
| Shrubland | 25 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Stabbursnes Nature Reserve consists of 14 km2 of water/mudflats and c.2.2 km2 of land. All human traffic is prohibited at Valdakmyra (part of the Nature Reserve, c.3.5-4.0 km2) between 1 May and 30 June. The staging Anser erythropus have been monitored regularly since 1971, and yearly since 1990 by NOF and the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research.